Emma-Joy McFarlane

20 Millimetres is a mixed-media series tracing how a car accident broke my spine, reshaped my body, and altered the course of my adolescence. That small distance within my spine became the divide between the childhood I should have had, and the years lost to hospitals, appointments, and recovery.

Through images, documents, and personal fragments, I explore trauma, time, and resilience—growing up in waiting rooms while life moved on without me. Creating this work lets me reclaim my story and replace painful memories with something meaningful now that I’m medically cleared and my claim is finally resolved.